What bullet for 264 Win Mag

[264WinMag]

I booked my Sako Finnbear 264 Win Mag in at Arms for an assessment. The rifle was giving two good shots and then just shot everywhere. I was affraid the barrel was finished but the gunsmith indicated there was some life left. They found that previous gunsmith incorrectly bedded the rifle which may have caused the bad groupings. The pillers were installed skew and therefore the screws were pulling the action to one side. The back action screws were also installed incorrectly. So the verdicts from the GS is: IT LIVESThe GS also managed to set the triogger at 1.5 pounds as opposed to the previous 4.5 ponds.

My question now is what bullets should I load for the rifle? The gun has a 1:9 twist with a 24inch barrel. The rifle will be mainly used for plains hunting up to 300m. I know the 264 was originally designed to shoot 140 gr bullets but was wondering if it will perform well with 129gr bullets. SO currently have stock of Hornady interlocks, and 123gr Hornady SST.

Inputs will be appreciated.

[TStone]

I have guided an American hunter who used the 130 gr Barnes TSX in his .264 win mag. It worked very well, on game up to kudu.

In the 6.5x55, the 129gr Hornady Interlocks perform well, not sure how they will do at .264 win mag velocities.

[Dale SH]

How fast you want to shoot it ?

Predicted safe accurate nodes using SAAMI spec for COL, case volume etc and standard thermochemical properties of S385

S385
120 grain Barnes TTSX/ Hornady GMX
3093 fps @ 55400 psi

129 grain Hornady Interbond/130 grain Nosler Accubond/ 130 grain Barnes TSX
3048ps @ 59000 psi (close to max pressure)

140 Grain Nosler Accubond
2888 fps @ 54350 psi
Higher node not at safe pressure (Let me clarify: The higher node (3000 fps @ 62400 psi) is exactly on max pressure so I do not recommend it as their are too many variables (hot day etc) which could push you into the red as far as pressure goes.
If you had a 26 inch barrel then you could achieve this node at about 57 000 psi.

In my opinion I would not consider cup and core at the potential impact speeds you could experience.

[bonesgun]

Mine like the heavier bullets but it also performed well with the 129 acubonds.
I curently shoot 140gr acubonds 2900 with no pressure effects.


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[kayaker]

I have guided an American hunter who used the 130 gr Barnes TSX in his .264 win mag. It worked very well, on game up to kudu.

In the 6.5x55, the 129gr Hornady Interlocks perform well, not sure how they will do at .264 win mag velocities.

130gr TSX (or similar) in the .264 would be excellent.

[264WinMag]

How fast you want to shoot it ?

Predicted safe accurate nodes using SAAMI spec for COL, case volume etc and standard thermochemical properties of S385

S385
120 grain Barnes TTSX/ Hornady GMX
3093 fps @ 55400 psi

129 grain Hornady Interbond/130 grain Nosler Accubond/ 130 grain Barnes TSX
3048ps @ 59000 psi (close to max pressure)

140 Grain Nosler Accubond
2888 fps @ 54350 psi
Higher node not at safe pressure (Let me clarify: The higher node (3000 fps @ 62400 psi) is exactly on max pressure so I do not recommend it as their are too many variables (hot day etc) which could push you into the red as far as pressure goes.
If you had a 26 inch barrel then you could achieve this node at about 57 000 psi.

In my opinion I would not consider cup and core at the potential impact speeds you could experience.

Thank you for the feedback.

I will want to shoot it at the higher speed but accuracy should not be sacrificed.

I still have some 140gr Hornday interlocks which I will also start out with.

[Wesley]

MagnumMania rifles need MagnumMania bullets. Ditch the Interlocks for a bonded or monolithic bullet.

[dAyLiTe]

That 1:9 twist is going to hurt those higher weight bullets.
If you want to shoot it at long range, check the Berger Twist calculator to get the right solution.

[bonesgun]

True when I tried to shoot 140 peregrines I hit the target side on, but the acubonds works well for me.

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[Messor]

Depends how you shoot, if you are talking springbok/blesbok hunting and will mostly take headshots, by all means, the SST and interlock will work just fine. Also the speeds mentioned is not really fast, you put it behind the shoulder of an antelope and you will not blow it up. If you hit bone on a shoulder then you might lose the whole shoulder, which in case of a springbok is not really something to write home over.

If you know you’ll only be doing heart/lung shots then by all means go the premium way.

But if it was my rifle, and I wanted to keep using it for a little while longer, I would still shoot heavier bullets just a tad slower, that way I’d get most out of my rifle. Like let’s say 140gr Interlocks, at around 2900ft/s. You will still kill everything dead, the flat base bullet stabilizes easily, won’t lose that much meat, but you will get more out of your old rifle than shooting smaller bullets at the speed of light.